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CEI's Marlo Lewis, Jr. Testimony on Global Warming

Presentation to the Republican Study Committee of Colorado On Global Warming and Climate Policy

By Marlo Lewis, Jr.

Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute

April 27, 2007

Chairman Lambert, Vice Chairman Lundberg, and Committee members: Thank you forinviting me to discuss global warming and climate change policy. On personal a note, Iam honored to share the podium with Dr. Gray, one of the world’s leading hurricaneexperts.

My testimony develops the following points:

• Global warming is real and much of the warming since the mid-1970s is likelydue to rising greenhouse gas levels from fossil energy use and other humanactivities.

• However, the rate of warming has been modest and constant. Both data andtheory suggest that future warming in the 21st century will be at low end of theUN climate panel’s projected range—2ºC or less.

• Accordingly, the impacts of warming on human civilization and eco-systems arelikely to be manageable and have benefits as well as costs.

• The Kyoto Protocol, even if implemented by all industrial countries, would avertan un-detectably small amount of global warming. Yet Kyoto would cost the U.S.economy tens to hundreds of billions of dollars in lost jobs, higher energy prices,and reduced GDP. Kyoto is all economic pain for no environmental gain.• Per ton of emissions reduced, State-level greenhouse gas regulation is potentiallyfar more costly than Kyoto.

• The real inconvenient truth is that we do not know how to meet current, much lessfuture anticipated, global energy needs with low- and non-emitting technologies.Carbon constraints tough enough to detectably cool the planet would beeconomically ruinous—a “cure” worse than the alleged disease.

• Corporate lobbying for carbon regulation does not mean that Kyoto-style policy isgood for the economy. All it shows is that some companies seek to establish aCarbon Cartel—a system of OPEC-like quotas (emission permits) for restrictingthe supply and raising the price of all carbon-based energy, not just oil.

• Putting an energy-starved world on an energy diet is not moral. Diverting majorquantities of grain stocks to “feed” cars is not ethical.

• Policymakers concerned about global warming should: (1) Support basic researchto develop affordable, emission-free energy technologies, and (2) target scarceinternational assistance efforts where they can do the most good for each dollarinvested.